Boss puts winning before seeding

Such has been the attention afforded to contract talks around Leinster of late that even matters as weighty as Heineken Cup qualification have had to take a second seat.

It was much the same yesterday at the RDS ahead of Leinster’s meeting with Ospreys tomorrow.

The only query that came close to being game-related during the first part of a Q&A with coach Matt O’Connor was when confirmation was sought, tongue in cheek, that Heaslip was out on the pitch training rather than in France having his ear bent by a French sugar daddy.